Modern day powerboats often are equipped with one or more inboard engines. These engines typically are mounted in an enclosed engine room located below the boat's deck. The engine's positioning in the boat requires that its drive shaft extend through the boat's hull (typically through a stuffing box), through a cutlass bearing held in place by a strut affixed to the boat's hull, and then attached to a propeller. As the engine causes the drive shaft to rotate, the propeller likewise rotates, thereby propelling the boat through the water.
Exhaust produced by the engine also must exit the powerboat. Since simply letting the exhaust exit into the enclosed engine room would quickly choke the room with unhealthy exhaust fumes, powerboat designers have designed various exhaust systems that channel the exhaust outside the boat through an exhaust outlet. The exhaust outlet may be above, below, or straddling the boat's waterline. In other words, the outlet may be unobstructed, obstructed, or partially obstructed by the water in which the boat is floating. Moreover, if the boat is rolling or pitching due to turbulent water conditions, the outlet may vacillate between its unobstructed, obstructed, or partially obstructed conditions.
In any of these conditions, exhaust exits the outlet with such force that any water in its path is sprayed or projected into the atmosphere along with the exiting exhaust. This spray of water can be particularly annoying to anyone (or anything) in its path. For example, the water spray from the exhaust of a boat idling at a dock might spray people or equipment within proximity of the spray. If the water is saltwater, the salt residue (and its corrosive effect) exacerbates the issue. The water spray also is known to be particularly annoying to fishermen fishing from the boat within proximity of the spray.
Not just any means of blocking this water spray is acceptable in many powerboating environments. For example, embodiments that materially retard movement of the boat through the water, that are not suitably immune to the violent nature of the powerboating environment, or that limit the free flow of exhaust gases (especially when backing up) will not suffice. Likewise, embodiments that could interfere with swimming or fishing from the boat are similarly not suitable.
Accordingly, an apparatus is needed for non-obtrusively inhibiting the spray of water caused by exhaust gases exiting a submerged or partially submerged exhaust outlet on a powerboat.